In beverage can necking machines, it is necessary that a lubricant such as wax be applied to the top rough edge of a can prior to the can entering the can necking machine in order to lubricate forming dyes of the machine. The wax must be applied in a fine line of about no more than 0.125 inches from the top of the can and should not wrap around the inside of the can. It is known to use roller applicator devices for applying such wax about the end perimeters of the cans. In such devices, a series of working rollers are partially immersed in a vat of molten wax under the moving conveyer line. The wax soaked rollers apply wax to the cans as they are rolled on a passing conveyor. Due to the arrangement of such roller applications, any loose bits of aluminum oxide from the rough edges of the cans being coated may fall into the vat mixing with the wax and building up on the rollers. This creates undesirable dark marks on the edges of the can. Such devices also do not permit adjustability or reliable consistency in wax application in high speed canning operations. Under or uneven lubricating can cause galling inside the forming dyes of the machine. Once the dye is galled in such manner it can cause denting, dinging, or scratching in the subsequently processed cans. Over lubricating, particularly on the inside of the cans, may result in contamination of the beverage product itself. Since can necking machines operate at speeds as high as 3000 cans per minute, any such defects in the wax application can cause rejection and scrapping of large batches of cans.